Best Cost Estimator programs in Nebraska, ranked by enrollment
Prepare cost estimates for product manufacturing, construction projects, or services to aid management in bidding on or determining price of product or service.
25 schools in Nebraska run programs that feed this job, graduating 3,712 people a year. The job pays a median of $73,100 in Nebraska across about 1,330 jobs (BLS OEWS May 2025).
Fields of study in Nebraska that lead to this job
Grouped at the 4-digit CIP level. Numbers are graduates per year in this state.
5 programs in Nebraska that lead to this job
Ranked by graduates per year in Nebraska (IPEDS completions). Graduate earnings and debt are national College Scorecard figures reported at the 4-digit CIP level, so specializations within one field share a figure. Each program also links to its own Nebraska page.
| # | Program | Graduates / yr | Share of pipeline | Schools | Grad earnings (1 yr) | Median debt |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | CIP 52.0201In Nebraska → | 3,130 | 84.3% | 21 | $43,506 | $25,000 |
| 2 | CIP 52.0101In Nebraska → | 359 | 9.7% | 8 | $44,700 | $24,000 |
| 3 | CIP 14.1901In Nebraska → | 140 | 3.8% | 1 | $70,724 | $24,833 |
| 4 | CIP 15.1001In Nebraska → | 63 | 1.7% | 1 | $72,178 | $22,750 |
| 5 | CIP 14.3301In Nebraska → | 20 | 0.5% | 1 | $75,998 | $25,314 |
Top 25 schools in Nebraska
Ranked by graduates per year into this job. Graduate earnings are reported for 19 of the 25 schools in this state.
| # | School | Graduates / yr | Top feeder program | Grad earnings (1 yr) | Grad rate | Net price | Acceptance |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Bellevue University Bellevue, NE Private not-for-profit · 2 feeder programs | 711 | Business Administration and Management, General | $60,931 | 33% | $29,230 | — |
| 2 | University of Nebraska - Lincoln Lincoln, NE Public · 4 feeder programs | 584 | Business Administration and Management, General | $47,663 | 67% | — | 87% |
| 3 | Central Community College Grand Island, NE Public · 1 feeder programs | 576 | Business Administration and Management, General | $33,898 | 48% | — | — |
| 4 | Metropolitan Community College Area Omaha, NE Public · 2 feeder programs | 333 | Business Administration and Management, General | $43,956 | 29% | — | — |
| 5 | University of Nebraska at Omaha Omaha, NE Public · 1 feeder programs | 274 | Business Administration and Management, General | $50,069 | 47% | — | 87% |
| 6 | Southeast Community College Area Lincoln, NE Public · 2 feeder programs | 182 | Business Administration and Management, General | $36,781 | 38% | — | — |
| 7 | University of Nebraska at Kearney Kearney, NE Public · 1 feeder programs | 172 | Business Administration and Management, General | $48,861 | 58% | — | 89% |
| 8 | Wayne State College Wayne, NE Public · 1 feeder programs | 162 | Business Administration and Management, General | $43,490 | 52% | — | — |
| 9 | Chadron State College Chadron, NE Public · 1 feeder programs | 123 | Business Administration and Management, General | $43,124 | 50% | — | — |
| 10 | Creighton University Omaha, NE Private not-for-profit · 1 feeder programs | 96 | Business Administration and Management, General | $47,427 | 83% | $27,353 | 80% |
| 11 | Northeast Community College Norfolk, NE Public · 2 feeder programs | 83 | Business Administration and Management, General | $24,497 | 56% | — | — |
| 12 | Mid - Plains Community College North Platte, NE Public · 1 feeder programs | 60 | Business Administration and Management, General | $33,906 | 54% | — | — |
| 13 | Concordia University - Nebraska Seward, NE Private not-for-profit · 1 feeder programs | 56 | Business/Commerce, General | $51,159 | 65% | $22,390 | 86% |
| 14 | Peru State College Peru, NE Public · 1 feeder programs | 53 | Business Administration and Management, General | $42,847 | 38% | — | — |
| 15 | Nebraska Wesleyan University Lincoln, NE Private not-for-profit · 1 feeder programs | 51 | Business/Commerce, General | $49,372 | 66% | $22,225 | 80% |
| 16 | Midland University Fremont, NE Private not-for-profit · 1 feeder programs | 44 | Business Administration and Management, General | — | 42% | $23,162 | 66% |
| 17 | Hastings College Hastings, NE Private not-for-profit · 1 feeder programs | 39 | Business Administration and Management, General | $47,525 | 49% | $20,424 | 72% |
| 18 | Doane University Crete, NE Private not-for-profit · 1 feeder programs | 38 | Business Administration and Management, General | $50,856 | 57% | $25,103 | 98% |
| 19 | Western Nebraska Community College Scottsbluff, NE Public · 1 feeder programs | 22 | Business Administration and Management, General | — | 37% | — | — |
| 20 | York University York, NE Private not-for-profit · 1 feeder programs | 21 | Business Administration and Management, General | $34,170 | 52% | $19,346 | 52% |
| 21 | Union Adventist University Lincoln, NE Private not-for-profit · 1 feeder programs | 13 | Business Administration and Management, General | $44,045 | 52% | $20,543 | 100% |
| 22 | College of Saint Mary Omaha, NE Private not-for-profit · 1 feeder programs | 7 | Business Administration and Management, General | — | 61% | $14,629 | 45% |
| 23 | Little Priest Tribal College Winnebago, NE Public · 1 feeder programs | 7 | Business/Commerce, General | — | 13% | — | — |
| 24 | Clarkson College Omaha, NE Private not-for-profit · 1 feeder programs | 4 | Business/Commerce, General | — | 47% | $17,156 | 78% |
| 25 | Nebraska Indian Community College Macy, NE Public · 1 feeder programs | 1 | Business Administration and Management, General | — | 22% | — | — |
All 25 schools in Nebraska
Every school in Nebraska with a program that feeds this job, ordered by graduates per year. Earnings are shown for the ranked schools above; open a school profile for the rest.
| School | City | Control | Graduates / yr | Feeder programs |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Bellevue University | Bellevue | Private not-for-profit | 711 | 2 |
| University of Nebraska - Lincoln | Lincoln | Public | 584 | 4 |
| Central Community College | Grand Island | Public | 576 | 1 |
| Metropolitan Community College Area | Omaha | Public | 333 | 2 |
| University of Nebraska at Omaha | Omaha | Public | 274 | 1 |
| Southeast Community College Area | Lincoln | Public | 182 | 2 |
| University of Nebraska at Kearney | Kearney | Public | 172 | 1 |
| Wayne State College | Wayne | Public | 162 | 1 |
| Chadron State College | Chadron | Public | 123 | 1 |
| Creighton University | Omaha | Private not-for-profit | 96 | 1 |
| Northeast Community College | Norfolk | Public | 83 | 2 |
| Mid - Plains Community College | North Platte | Public | 60 | 1 |
| Concordia University - Nebraska | Seward | Private not-for-profit | 56 | 1 |
| Peru State College | Peru | Public | 53 | 1 |
| Nebraska Wesleyan University | Lincoln | Private not-for-profit | 51 | 1 |
What cost estimators earn in Nebraska
What people already working in this job earn (BLS OEWS May 2025). Not graduate earnings.
U.S. median $78,740. Nebraska pays below the national figure.
1.00× means the state has its expected share of these jobs.
Metro areas in Nebraska
Job outlook
Bureau of Labor Statistics Employment Projections, 2024 to 2034.
Growth and openings are national. The Bureau of Labor Statistics does not publish employment projections at state level, so these figures describe the occupation across the whole U.S., not this state alone.
How to get in
The full skills, tools, and day-to-day breakdown lives on the national Cost Estimators page.
How to become a Cost Estimator
Job zone 4 of 5 · SVP 7.0 to < 8.0- Typical entry education
- Bachelor's degree
- On-the-job training
- Moderate-term on-the-job training
Most of these occupations require a four-year bachelor's degree, but some do not.
A considerable amount of work-related skill, knowledge, or experience is needed for these occupations. For example, an accountant must complete four years of college and work for several years in accounting to be considered qualified.
Employees in these occupations usually need several years of work-related experience, on-the-job training, and/or vocational training.
Top skills
The same job in other states
Where else this occupation employs the most people, and what it pays there.
Related careers in Nebraska
Every major mapped to this job
The official federal mapping behind the rankings above.
All 7 majors mapped to Cost Estimators7 of them graduated someone in the latest IPEDS year. NCES CIP 2020 → SOC 2018 crosswalk.+
- 14.1801Materials Engineering
- 14.1901Mechanical Engineering
- 14.3301Construction Engineering
- 14.3601Manufacturing Engineering
- 15.1001Construction Engineering Technology/Technician
- 52.0101Business/Commerce, General
- 52.0201Business Administration and Management, General
Common questions
Answers for people weighing cost estimators programs in Nebraska.
What degree do you need to become a Cost Estimator?+
Bachelor's degree is the typical entry-level education BLS reports for this occupation. The most common program people actually graduate from is Business Administration and Management, General, which awarded 3,130 degrees in Nebraska in 2024-25, 84.3% of everyone graduating from a program that feeds this career.
Which college majors lead to becoming a Cost Estimator?+
The NCES CIP-to-SOC crosswalk maps 5 programs to this occupation. The largest are Business Administration, Business/Commerce, Mechanical Engineering, Construction Engineering Technology/Technician, plus 1 more. Together they graduate about 3,712 people a year in Nebraska.
How much do cost estimators earn in Nebraska?+
The median is $73,100 a year (BLS OEWS May 2025). That is 7.2% below the U.S. median of $78,740. This is pay for people already working in the occupation, not the same thing as graduate earnings one year after finishing a degree.
Is demand for cost estimators growing?+
BLS projects a -4.2% change in employment between 2024 and 2034, decline, with roughly 16,900 openings a year nationally once retirements and job changes are counted.
How many schools offer programs for this career in Nebraska?+
25 institutions in Nebraska reported graduates from at least one of the 5 programs that feed this occupation in IPEDS 2024-25. Rankings on this page use graduates per year, because the federal data publishes no enrollment count by program.
What other job titles do cost estimators work under?+
Employers advertise this work under many names. O*NET records Estimator, Cost Analyst, Cost Estimator, Construction Estimator among the most commonly reported, all mapping to SOC 13-1051.
About the data on this page
Rankings use IPEDS completions 2024–25, degrees awarded per year. That is the closest federal measure of how many people a program puts into a career, because no federal dataset publishes enrollment by program. Wages and employment come from BLS OEWS May 2025, growth and openings from BLS Employment Projections 2024-34, and which majors lead to which jobs from the NCES CIP 2020 to SOC 2018 crosswalk. Occupation descriptions, tasks, skills and tools are O*NET 30.3 (CC BY 4.0, U.S. Department of Labor/ETA).
BLS Occupational Employment & Wage Statistics
May 2025Wages, employment counts, location quotients and metro breakdowns.
BLS Employment Projections
2024–34Projected growth, annual openings and typical entry-level education.
IPEDS Completions
2024-25 (provisional)Graduates per year by program and institution — the ranking metric.
College Scorecard, Field of Study
2020-21 cohortsMedian graduate earnings one year after completion, and median debt.
Census Post-Secondary Employment Outcomes
latest availableGraduate earnings 1/5/10 years out, where the state participates.
NCES CIP 2020 and the CIP-to-SOC 2018 crosswalk
CIP 2020 / SOC 2018Which college programs officially lead to this occupation.
O*NET Database 30.3
30.3Tasks, skills, knowledge, tools, job zone and alternate job titles.
Official source →CC BY 4.0, U.S. Department of Labor / ETA
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